As is well known in the art, some types of pressure sensor devices are configured to develop an electric potential proportional to an applied pressure. Several forms of these pressure sensors are packaged into pressure sensor devices designed for surface mounting to circuit boards. Typically, the pressure sensor devices are connected to the circuit board by a clamping device.
In order to measure the electric potential in the pressure sensor device, at least two electrical conductors connected to the pressure sensor device will be needed. One type of pressure sensor device requires an electrical conductor to be connected on each side of the pressure sensor. Another type of pressure sensor device requires an electrical conductor to be connected on one side of the pressure sensor. The electrical conductors are usually connected by soldering, glueing or clamping wires to the pressure sensor device.
However, problems may occur when the circuit board is subjected to vibrations or environmental conditions, such as moisture. The vibrations may cause the wires to suffer fatigue and break. The clamping device may also suffer fatigue and dislocate from the circuit board, due to the vibrations. Additionally, pressure sensor devices usually need to remain dry in order to operate properly. The clamping devices will not ordinarily keep moisture off the pressure sensor device.
Since, additional steps are typically required to surface mount pressure sensor devices, the production costs for circuit boards generally increases. Additionally, the clamping device increases the number of components required to produce the circuit board, which potentially increases the overall cost of the circuit board.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.